Pang Cun did not return to the village alone. Accompanying him back to the village was Pei Shouyue, a local inspector newly appointed by the Chuang Army.
Because there are not enough people in the army who are proficient in writing, let alone cadres who are familiar with the law and can serve as judicial officials. And justice is related to the life and death of ordinary people, so judicial officials can be called the final gatekeepers of local politics, especially
It's important. Therefore, Li Laiheng adhered to a cautious attitude of preferring to lack rather than abuse in the establishment and appointment of such officials.
Nowadays, the Camp and Field Department system of Chuyingying has set up more than a dozen village envoys in each prefecture and county in Huguang. In the near future, it is also planning to set up an equal number of thieves catching envoys to serve as the lowest level officials in the administrative agency.
However, under the prefectural officials and county magistrates who are responsible for state and county justice, there are only one or two inspectors who are responsible for going to the countryside to handle minor cases and escorting serious suspects captured by Zhuang envoys and thieves back to the prefectural and county towns.
disposal.
Pei Shouyue is the only inspector in Zaoyang County. He travels back and forth to various places in Zaoyang almost every day. He has been extremely busy recently.
The current shortage of cadres and personnel is extremely severe. The Huguang Chuangjun now controls millions of people scattered in tens of thousands of natural villages, which are enough to serve as village envoys. However, there are less than a thousand cadres to catch bandit envoys, and there are only a few who can serve as inspectors.
It was only a mere hundred people.
Although Li Laiheng is cultivating new cadres through multiple channels, Chuangying will soon take over wider areas such as Xiangyang, Jingzhou, Chengtian and even Wuchang, and the gap in grassroots cadres will be even greater. In essence, Fang Yirenhe is responsible for selecting talents.
Xie Zheng, who is working there, estimated that Huguang Province alone would need no fewer than two to three thousand grassroots officials such as village envoys, bandit envoys, and inspectors at the prefecture and county level.
Therefore, at this stage, not only one inspector is responsible for the circuit trials of misdemeanors and preliminary trials of serious crimes in the county, but also the village envoys and robber envoys stationed in various market towns and water and land fortresses in the county, each of whom has jurisdiction over several people.
There are anywhere from one to more than a dozen villages.
In many places, because the manpower was too tight, the Chuang army had to adopt the method of letting Zhuang envoys also serve as thieves catching envoys.
The situation in Zaoyang County is relatively good. Because it is a complex new area, it is equipped with more cadres. Although there is only Pei Shouyue as the inspector for the time being, different people have been appointed as the village envoys and theft arrest envoys in various places.
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The Zhuang envoy in charge of Pang Cun's hometown was a bookkeeper in De'an Prefecture a year ago, and the newly appointed robber envoy was a camp commander who had broken his arm and retired from the army during this battle. The latter was Pang Cun's
An old superior, and this time Pang Cun was able to go back to his hometown to see his brother in the name of escorting Inspector Pei Shouyue on his behalf.
Thinking of his brother, Pang Cun had doubts. He said with an unsightly expression:
"Thanks to the care of the village envoy and the bandit envoy, my brother was promoted to become the village chief. But except for my younger brother, who was a leading soldier in the army, he had no money or power, and he had always been a cowardly person.
, how can you handle the job of being the chief grain officer here?"
Pang Cun said uneasily: "I heard that the village envoy asked the village chief to organize a militia to help the envoy catch thieves and maintain the place. This was something that the lords and scholars in the past could do! Although our village does not have such a lot of land and
We are young, but my two nieces were killed by the villagers. With this level of hatred, there must be many conflicts between the superiors and the subordinates. For him to be the head of Laoshizi Village is like sitting on a fire, which makes me really uneasy. I don’t know.
What to do."
Although Pei Shouyue had no fame, he had been a private school teacher for several years and had also fought lawsuits for others. He spoke with a touch of refinement. Seeing that Pang Cun was still worried about his brother, he comforted:
"Brother Pang, you don't have to worry too much. We have a few township officials here to help your brother, so nothing can go wrong. According to the regulations of the commander, the camp rent is collected directly by the village envoy, and the village chief is not allowed to cover the compensation; the militiamen
It's your duty to catch thieves, and he is your life and death companion, so why can't you trust him? As long as your brother can strictly abide by the law, not be frivolous, and not engage in corruption, he can be a good village leader."
"As for Ling's niece's case," Pei Shouyue smiled slightly and responded, "Isn't that why I'm here today?"
Four new recruits of the Breaking Army were in front to clear the way for Pang Cun and Pei Shouyue. They were all recruits recruited and trained by the Zaoyang County Recruiting and Training Envoy. One of them was assigned as the bodyguard of the promotion officer Pei Shouyue, and the other three were originally recruited.
The county magistrate and camp envoy were worried that the villagers would resist Pang An's appointment as village chief, so they sent them specially to prepare for repression.
But they were obviously overly worried. As soon as Pang Cun and the others walked into the village, they saw the villagers crowding around Pang An like stars holding the moon, and lined the streets to welcome him.
The clan elder who had ordered Pang An to be tied up and forced to death Pang An's two daughters was tied to a wooden stake by the villagers, waiting for Inspector Pei Shou to escort him back to the county town to be dealt with by the officials.
Pang Cun was a little surprised. He thought the villagers would be afraid and resistant to Chuangjun because of what happened before, but he didn't expect them to change so quickly?
Pang Cun's brother Pang An was the first to greet him. He looked very good and had put on a new clothes that was simple but clean after all. He welcomed Chu Jundao:
"Everything in the village has been settled... The villagers have already heard the news that Inspector Pei is coming, and also, also, I was promoted by the kings of the insurgent army to do the job of catching the bandits. Everyone is
He said that Chuang Jun was the Qingtian Master who upheld justice, so he tied up the clan elder first... This guy, this guy used to often invade the village's fields. Even when Chuang Jun came to enact the new camp law, he hindered it.
, I defrauded my family of a huge piece of land, everyone is already very angry!"
What Pang An said surprised Pang Cun even more. First of all, he did not expect that during the reform of the camp system, the Chuang army had attached so much importance and attention to suppressing the gentry and rural sages, but there were still clan elders who took the opportunity to seek personal gain; secondly,
Unexpectedly, the villagers' position changed so quickly, and the clan elders who had accumulated power for many years were tied up so quickly.
However, he then thought about it. Pang An was also a member of the villagers' tribe. Now that he was supported by Chuangying, it was not surprising that the villagers regarded Pang An, who could communicate with Chuangying on behalf of the village, as the new village chief.
What's more, the clan elder has indeed only cared about himself in recent years and has not done anything for the villagers. Now it is natural for everyone to reject the wall.
Pang An then told Pei Shouyue many of the ugly things that the clan elders had done over the years, including how the clan elders removed the ashes of his daughter-in-law. One after another, the surrounding villagers became more and more angry.
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Pei Shouyue seemed to have expected all this. He assured the villagers that the county would try the case impartially, and after enforcing the law, he took Pang Cun to the house to rest for a while.
"Brother Pang, before our group of inspectors went to the countryside, they all attended a few days of temporary training courses at the township official school. In fact, Li Shijun and Secretary Fang have already discussed this situation. The villagers are like reed poles in the water.
, Wherever the wind blows, they will fall. When Zuo Liangyu came, they forced good girls into prostitution, and the clan elders used the public for personal gain. They also swallowed their anger, but if Chuangjun upholds justice, they can hate evil as much as they hate...Brother Pang, you are the same.
The villagers of Pangzi Village, what kind of people do you think the villagers are?"
These words made Pang Cun lower his head and think deeply, but he thought of another thing and said uneasily: "But if this happens, if the officers and soldiers come back in the future, and the wind blows to the west, won't the villagers fall back again?"
Pei Shouyue laughed and said: "Establishing the authority of the intruders is the responsibility of the inspectors and the thief-catching envoys. Nowadays, manpower is tight. In many places, at the village level, the village envoys can only serve as thief-catching envoys. As for the village level,
What's more, we can only entrust the family members of Chuang Jun or the clan elders who are close to Chuang Jun to be the village chiefs to preside over self-government."
Pang Cun said doubtfully: "Autonomy...don't care about other things. The village chief's main responsibility is to organize the militia in the village. If the elders can be allowed to govern themselves, doesn't it mean that they are handing over military power to others? In the future, when the wind of the government and army comes back, they will
Isn’t it still one-sided?”
"That's not entirely the case. Just like today when villagers kidnapped clan elders, things like this are happening everywhere in Huguang. Li Shijun has ordered that old scores should be settled and clan elders who have invaded the fields and provided military supplies to Zuozhen should be killed.
We select a group, review a group, arrest a group, and then support activists in the village who are close to the rebels to become village chiefs and preside over militia work."
Pei Shouyue went on to explain: "Not only that, in places where bandits have been set up, bandits will also take turns inspecting and testing the village soldiers during the slack season every winter. According to the performance of the militia, the militia will be reduced or reduced for the second year.
The camp rent should be paid. At the same time, brave men from the militia are selected to form a semi-full-time standing militia. The standing militia can receive ration allowances like the invaders. In case of emergency, the county magistrate, village envoy, and bandit envoy can prepare the standing militia.
As the backbone, ordinary militiamen from several villages are gathered together to capture theft and defend against the enemy. However, when mobilizing ordinary militiamen, the rent payable by the militiamen for the second year must be reduced or exempted based on the number of people and the number of days."
This complicated militia system made Pang Cun a little dizzy, but after Pei Shouyue slowly explained it, he gradually understood it.
Generally speaking, the Chuang Army has two types of militia in the local area: an ordinary militia with strong autonomy. They are poorly trained and equipped. Although they strengthen the local security force of the Chuang Army, they may also become clan elders.
The restoration tool of the gentry; another kind of standing militia, which is directly controlled by the county magistrate, recruiting and training envoys, camp field envoys, and bandit catching envoys. It is also connected with the conscription system of the invading army, and will play the role of stabilizing the sea and preventing
The grassroots political power fell into the hands of clan elders.
Pei Shouyue sighed: "Since ancient times, only the Han and Tang dynasties were able to establish such a strict official system in villages and villages. Since the Song Dynasty, the imperial government has handed over the power of government to others. During the Taiping and Qing Dynasties, the gentry clan
Lao Shang can maintain a peaceful and decent situation in a place. But once the world is in chaos, the gentry will invade the power of supervising the Yamen one after another. The county magistrate is called Bailihou, but the government orders do not leave the county. Over time, it will naturally become a long-term disadvantage."
Pang Cun didn't read some history books like Pei Shouyue, but he also knew that Li Laiheng's actions had great intentions and the purpose was not in front of him. He sincerely admired:
"On my way back to Zaoyang from Suizhou, I heard from travelers and merchants everywhere that our Commander-in-Chief was the elder Peishang, and that Mr. Taiyuan was resurrected. I didn't quite understand what I heard at first, but after asking around, I found out that everyone was praising Commander-in-Chief.
For the emperor of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, the commander-in-chief is Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. We can also look for Xiao He and Zhang Liangcheng to take advantage of the gold and do it!"
"No, no." Pei Shouyue pretended to be mysterious, dropped his book bag and said, "Li Shijun restored the rural administration, does his intention go beyond Han Gao and Tang Zong? Shijun's plan is so big that we can't know it!"
The villagers outside the house cheered and cheered that the "big villain" of the clan elder was dealt with according to law. People seemed to have forgotten the past of forcing Pang An's two daughters to death not long ago. They only blamed all the mistakes on the clan elder and celebrated "Liberation".
"s arrival.
Such a scene is not limited to Zaoyang or Suizhou, but is happening in all the territories controlled by the Chuang Army.
According to Li Laiheng's intention, these clan elders who have colluded with Zuozhen will kill some, review some, and arrest some to destroy their authority. The rest will be sent to other places to serve as envoys to catch thieves.
They were transferred to other places on the pretext of being promoted to official positions. The remaining pro-Invaders tried to establish a marriage relationship between their families and the soldiers of the Intruder Army, gradually integrating them into one, and gradually realizing the local transformation of the Insurgent Army regime.
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But in this process, killing is always inevitable.